Improvement in platform-wagon trestles



L. M. FITCH.

PLATFORM WAGON TRESTLES.

No.183,914. Patentad 0ct.3l, 1876.

WITNESSES INVENTOR ATTOR N EY UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

LAUREN M. FITCH, OF LEONARDSVILLE, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES P. WHITE,

; 0F ILION, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLATFORM-WAGON TRESTLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 183,914, dated October 31, 1876 application filed May 27, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LAUREN M. FITCH, of Leonardsville, in the county of Madison and State of New York, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Platform- Wagon Trestles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of a vertical cross-sectional view of my improved trestle, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same.

This invention has relation to platformwagon trestles; and it consists, mainly,in the construction and novel arrangement of the head'block, center-bar, and side bars diverging in right lines from said head-block to the cleviscs, the inside brace-irons connected to the center and side bars on the inside, and the outside draft-irons connected to the headblock and side bars, both brace and draft irons extending-beyond said side bars to form the clevises, as hereinafter shown and deseabed.

In the annexed drawings, the letter A designates the head-block, situated at the rear of the trestle, and B is a rectilinear beam extending to the front from, and mortised into, the same at the middle of its length. 0 O are two rectilinear diverging bars of wood or timbers, constituting the side rails of the trestle, which are also mortised into block A, and extend to the clevises in front considerably beyond bar B. Bars B, O, and O areconnected together by a transverse brace, D, secured thereto by suitable bolts, and they are made of straight pieces of timber. On the sides of bars 0 0 are secured, in the usual manner-that is, by means of bolts-the main draft-irons E E, the rear ends of which are bent in the arc of a circle, and also bolted to end piece A, as shownin Fig.2, at at. These irons,

being turned up edgewise, give great strength,

and at the same time present a finished appearance. F F designate diagonal brace-irons, one end, I, of which is extended to the rear and bolted to bar B, and then bent outward therefrom across the bars 0 0. They are then bent to conform to the inner surfaces of the said bars, and secured thereto by means of bolts. Irons E E and F F extend beyond the ends of side bars 0 O, and form the clevises b b, to which the shafts are attached. G is the metallic circle, which is arranged on the trestle, so that its center shall be coincident with the point of intersection of bar B and bed-piece or brace D, and is secured to the latter by means of bolts 0, where it crosses the same. It is also similarly secured to bar B by upwardly-projectng studs j being formed on or secured thereto for purpose of maintaining the circle on a level.

The advantage of this construction is that the material of which the bars are made is not bent, and the labor and cost of steaming and seasoning the curving saved and economized. Another advantageis that, by means of irons F F, the strain of the draft is dis tributed evenly to bars B, O, and G.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The wagon-platform trestle, consisting of the center-bar B and the transverse bar 1), arranged at right angles with each other under the center of the fifth-wheel, the head-block A, and the side timbers G C diverging in direct lines therefrom, and extending to the (lrat't-clevises, the diagonal brace-irons F F attached to center and side timbers, and the lateral draft-irons attached to head-block and side bars, all said irons supporting the transverse bar, and extending beyond the ends of the side timbers to form the draft-clevises, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

LAUREN M. FITCH.

Witnesses:

H. M. AYLE SWORTH, S. H. (JoLLINs. 

